The Seventh Year
by YukiKyo
Summary: Harry, Ron and Hermione go back for their seventh year. As they go through their last year of Hogwarts together, hearts will be tested. For when you're seventeen the person you're with may not alway be who you are with for the rest of your life. Ginny has always been a firey young girl, and her temper starts to wear on Harry. Especially when Harry and Hermione start to grow closer.
1. Train Ride

Harry Potter ran a hand through his scruffy black hair. Even though he had accomplished many things in his seventeen years of existence, including defeating the most powerful and dark wizard of all time, he was still unable to tame his hair. It seemed to want to stay in the permanent bed head look to matter how many times he tried to comb it.

A sigh escaped his lips as he pulled on his robes as they were nearing the school. Harry was happy that for the first time in his life his school year wouldn't be plagued with perilous adventure's and the danger of having to defeat Lord Voldemort.

Sitting down next to Ginny he gave her a warm smile. He was beyond excited to be able to spend the year with her, a normal school year where nothing crazy would happen. They could spend time in Hogsmeade together, as well as sit by the lake when it was warm out. Quidditch was another thing he was looking forward too, especially when they had a solid team with the potential to win the House Cup.

"Ron would you leave it be!" Harry heard Ginny shout, a frown creasing his brow, before rolling his eyes slightly. He feared that Ron and Ginny would always argue over the stupidest things, and this time was probably one of those times.

"What's wrong this time?" Harry asked, not really caring about what his girlfriend and best friend were arguing about. Especially because Ginny's temper was starting to wear on him. She had always been a passionate young woman, but the squabbles between the two of them were starting to take its toll.

Ginny huffed, an exaggerated sigh escaped her lips. "It's nothing...Ronald seems to think some of the classes I want to take are pointless. Like Muggle Studies."

"Yeah, I think it's a bloody waste of time. Why would you want to learn about Muggles?" Ron asked, quite annoyed at having this conversation. He was always embarrassed when his dad brought things back from the Muggle world and tried to enchant them. Or when he tried to talk to other wizards about what the Muggle objects did. It was enough to make Ron's skin crawl whenever his father brought it up.

"Besides, you know how Dad gets whenever something from the Muggle world is around." Ginny agreed with him, but was still interested in Muggle Studies. She found their world fascinating, how they lived from day to day without magic was very interesting for Ginny, especially because Harry came from that world.

Harry couldn't help but roll his eye's the pointless banter between the two. "Ron...leave her be, she can take whatever classes she wants to." He was probably asking for trouble for taking the side of his girlfriend over his best mate, but at this point he was to tired to care. He hadn't slept well the night before, having been too excited to start his final year at Hogwarts to get much sleep. He was taking Potions with Slughorn, Defense Against the Dark Arts with a new professor, Charms with Flitwick, and a few other classes that seemed interesting.

He hadn't needed to go back for seventh year, Kingsley Shacklebolt the new Minister of Magic had given him the go ahead to become an Auror but, Harry had wanted to have a normal year at Hogwarts. He wanted to go to classes without having to look over his shoulder, fearing for his life, that Lord Voldemort would come to kill him.

"Ronald leave Ginny alone, Muggles studies is fascinating. I'm taking it this year too." Hermione chimed in, much to Rons dislike. It was so like Hermione to put her two cents in, which wasn't helping Rons temper.

"Of course you would." Ron muttered, shaking his head. "I'm going to change into my robes." He said as Hermione looked furious at what Ron had mumbled under his breath. She had heard it of course, and went red with anger. Ron was never very understand about Hermione's love of the Muggle world and its technology, for he always associated it with the fact that his father was so crazy about it, which embarrassed Ron.

Harry gave both Ginny and Hermione a sympathetic smile, wishing Ron could be more accepting of the fact that both his girlfriend and sister wanted to take a Muggle studies class.

It seemed like the ride to Hogwarts took forever, especially since there was a lot of tension in the train car. Hopefully once everyone had stuffed their faces at the feast, and had a goods night sleep everything would blow over.

It was while they were filing into the Great Hall that Harry saw a flash of pale blond hair out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head and his eyes went wide. Standing a few feet away from him with some other Slytherin classmates with Draco Malfoy. Harry Potter had had no idea that Draco would be coming back for his final year. The Malfoy's had pretty much gone into hiding after the War, no one had had heard much of them since the end of the war. They led a quiet life which was just fine with Harry and the rest of the wizarding world. He assumed that Lucius had managed to get an unimportant job in the Ministry, and the Draco would be in a similar position. It had never occurred to Harry that the younger Malfoy would ever go back to school.

Harry poked both Ron and Hermione to get them to look over at Draco standing amongst his Slytherin friends. "Blimey, wouldn't have expected to see him here." Ron said quietly, as Hermione just glared at the blond with great distaste.

"I don't want to deal with his snarkiness right now." Harry said, ushering his friends to the Gryffindor table. "Let's just eat." The Boy Who Lived said, trying to get in a better mood. He had been eagerly awaiting the Start of Term feast, where he would be able to eat until he burst before going off to the Common Room to enjoy catching up with his friends.

Harry was excited to see that everyone from his class had come back for their last year. He was unable to stop a large grin that appeared on his face as he watched Neville Longbottom nearly fall over when he sat at the bench near him.

For once this would be a normal year and all Harry would have to worry about was making sure Ron and Ginny didn't argue too much.


	2. Potions

Authors Note: Thank you all so much for the reviews, views, favorites and follows! I'm really excited to write this story, and hope everyone enjoys it!

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It was a quiet breakfast in the Great Hall the next morning. Tempers had cooled, and everyone was looking over their classes for the first term. Harry was happy with classes he had, and couldn't wait to start the school year, he was even looking forward to doing homework.

Their first class of the day was Potions, which they had with Ravenclaw. Harry was surprised that they didn't have Potions with Slytherin, for it seemed like they always had been paired with Slytherins when it came to Potions, especially when Snape was teaching it. The young raven haired boy couldn't help it if Snape had done that on purpose knowing that Harry Potter was in Gryffindor.

Harry Potter actually breathed a sigh of relief as he entered the Potions dungeon, a smiling Slughorn greeting him. Since Harry, Ron and Hermione were now in the same year as Ginny, it made things a lot more enjoyable. He could sit with his girlfriend for potions, as well as his two best friends. He couldn't have been happier.

"Welcome everyone to another wonderful year at Hogwarts! Although I am sorry that this will be our last year together." Slughorn said, he seemed genuinely sad to see his Seventh year students leave. He was losing a lot of his Slug Club members after all.

Once everyone had gotten settled into their seats, Slughorn started the class. "Let's start off with something easy since it's the first day of classes. I'd like you all to make a Cough Potion." The aging man explained, stating that his reasoning behind such a simple potion was that since it was the start of the term, and in a sense the changing of the seasons he figured many students would be getting sick. "What better way to keep the Infirmary uncluttered then with a Cough Potion." Slughorn said enthusiastically. "But we can't make this too easy now, I'd like Gryffindors to pair with Ravenclaws." He said, a glint in his eye.

Everyone couldn't help but groan slightly at having to be partnered with someone from a different house. It wasn't often that Professors asked the Houses to mingle, but Harry figured that since the war was over, there was no harm in trying to improve the relations between the houses.

The potion wasn't as simple as it seemed. Like with any potion if you got the ingredients wrong you wouldn't correctly have the potion, but with the Cough Potion, if you messed up you'd be coughing for the rest of the day, and if left untreated could turn into a serious illness.

"Let's get to work!" The Potions Master said, as the students slowly started to pair up. Harry was not happy about having to work with the Ravenclaws. He had nothing against them personally, although sometimes they gave off an air of superiority.

"Hello Harry." A light, airy sounding voice got his attention. The Boy Who Lived knew whose voice that was and a smile appeared on his face. He hadn't seem Luna Lovegood the other night at the feast, but he was happy to see that she was back at school, as well as that she was his partner.

He caught Ginny giving him a longing look, which he returned. As much as he wished he could be partners with Ginny, Luna was a good second choice, especially for a Ravenclaw. It was then he noticed that a Ravenclaw with shoulder-length black hair had come over to Ginny. Harry recognized him as Michael Corner, whom Ginny had gone out with a few years ago. A flash of jealousy shot through Harry at the sight of the young man. He was handsome, definitely would have no trouble getting a girlfriend, but why he had to pick Ginny to be his partner baffled Harry.

Throughout the Potions lesson Harry couldn't help but glance over at Ginny and Michael. She seemed to be giggling quite a bit, the Ravenclaw smiling warmly at her. A frown creased his forehead, his thoughts on Ginny and her potions partner.

"Harry, careful." Ginny said, her voice never raising in alarm, but it brought Harry out of his thoughts. "You almost added too many Boom Berries." Luna told him, giving Harry a slight smile.

"Oh..Sorry..I was...distracted." Harry said, glancing back at Ginny and Michael. He didn't want to mess up the potion, so he did his best to concentrate on completing it. It was hard, his thoughts frequently strayed, but Luna managed to rein him in and their potion managed to come out perfectly.

"Good job me boy!" Slughorn said excitedly, giving Harry a wink. The raven haired young boy could barely smile at the compliment. His thoughts were on Ginny and Michael, whom were also just finishing up their potion. Harry's girlfriend couldn't stop giggling at something the Ravenclaw had said, and that made Harry's blood boil. He didn't like that Ginny was so friendly with her ex.

"Ginny, we have to get to our next class." Harry said through gritted teeth, attempting to grab his girlfriend's hand and pull her away from the black haired boy. Ginny frowned at him, jerking her arm away. "Harry, it's fine, I'll meet you there. I want to talk to Michael about the homework." She said, before leaving with the Ravenclaw boy.

Harry frowned, he hadn't even known there had been homework. He looked to Luna for help, and she explained to him that they had to write an essay with their partner on the effects of a healing potion of their choice. Harry nodded absently, before leaving his Ravenclaw friend to head to class alone.

The day had started off so well, and ended with Harry in a bad mood. He would have to talk to Ginny later that night in the common room to tell her how he didn't like her spending so much time with Michael, even if it was for a homework assignment.

The next class they had was Herbology with Slytherin, something Harry wasn't looking forward to. The more he thought of it the angrier he got with how rotten the day was getting. By the time he got to the Herbology greenhouse, he was seething, ready to snap at anyone who looked at him.


	3. Herbology and the Hate Potion

A/N: Thank you for all of the favorites, follows and reviews! It means a lot to me! I hope you all enjoy this next chapter.

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Both Hermione and Ginny were in one of their Muggle classes, which left Harry and Ron alone in Herbology with the Slytherin, with Draco Malfoy. A long drawn out sigh escaped Harry's lips as he entered the greenhouse, giving Ron an eye roll when he saw the Slytherins were already there.

_As if I weren't already miffed, now I have to deal with Malfoy._ Harry thought to himself. While Harry and Ron got settled, Professor Flitwick was flitting about the greenhouse, setting out various herbs, plants and roots for the students. Briefly the young boy wondered what they were going to be making.

"Welcome!" The Herbology Professor said with a smile on her face. She was clearly excited for today's lesson, but as she started to explain what they would be doing in todays class, Harry felt his stomach drop.

Once again they would be working with another house, much to Harry and Rons horror. Harry looked over to Ron and saw that his face was quite pale. There was nothing worse then having to work with Slytherins, especially Draco and his group of "friends."

Harry took a quick glance at the Slytherin table and saw that Draco looked quite forlorn. Gone was the usual cockyness that always seemed to radiate from him. The person across the greenhouse was a shell of his former self. Which was to be expected considering that for as far as Harry knew, after the war the Malfoys had gone into hiding, Mr. Malfoy having lost his prestigious position at the Ministry. Unbenounced to Harry, Lucius Malfoy was working for the family business Malfoy Apothecary. He was sure that Hermione would know what had happened to the family, he would have to ask her the next time he saw her.

Despite the fact that Malfoy looked like someone had just kicked his puppy, he still expected the Slytherin to act just as rude to Harry as ever.

"We want to foster a positive relationship between all the houses." Sprout explained, trying to rally a better response than the groans she had received for pairing Slytherin's with Gryffindor's. Harry expected to have to find his own partner for whatever they would be making.

"We thought it would be best to pair up the students in a few of their classes so everyone could get to know one another better. And I will be picking the partners for this potion." The Professor explained, which prompted Harry to pray that he wouldn't get stuck with Malfoy. She went about pairing Slytherins with Gryffindor, and when Harry's name was called he couldn't help but feel dread in the pit of his stomach, Malfoy still hadn't been given a partner.

"Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy." Sprout called out, which prompted Malfoy to flash a small smirk at his remaining friends. It seemed that despite all that had happened Malfoy still enjoyed tormenting Harry.

The raven haired young man could feel his heartbeat accelerate as Draco Malfoy came over to join Harry at his table. Ron had been paired with a Slytherin whose name Harry didn't know, and he looked at his best friend, giving Harry a wide eyed stare. Ron was just as shocked as Harry to find that Draco had been paired with him.

_Kill me now._ Harry thought, suppressing a groan. "Well Potter, it looks like we'll be working together." Draco drawled, his old personality starting to come back to life. It looked like he just needed to be near Harry to become his old self again. Harry had wished he had chosen to say the solemn, sad young man he had been a few minutes ago.

"Today you will be making a Hate Potion. It is a potion that shows the taker's worst traits and habits." Sprout explained. Harry wasn't sure how he felt about the potion. The Herbology Professor explained that they would be both taking the potion, one at a time. At least Harry would be able to learn what Draco's worst traits and habits were. But Draco would also learn what Harry's worst traits and habits were. He slightly shuddered at the thought of Draco knowing how stubborn Harry could be, as well as how impulsive the Boy Who Lived could be. Harry often let his emotions get the best of him, and frequently acted before thinking.

A sigh escaped his lips as he turned to speak to Malfoy. "Looks like it." He said, trying to keep his voice calm. Draco merely chuckled at Harry's words, and opened his textbook to find the Hate Potion. Harry did the same, scanning the list of ingredients needed. It didn't look too hard.

"I'll prepare the first half of ingredients, you do the second half." Malfoy commanded. Harry didn't have a problem with that, but he fact that Malfoy had ordered him to do it annoyed him to no end. "Sure.." Harry said through gritted teeth. He fixed the ingredients to the recipes instructions, putting them in his cauldron at the right time.

Harry couldn't help but glance at Draco to make sure he didn't mess up on his half of the ingredients. If they weren't done correctly it would mess up the whole potion, which could be disastrous. "You're supposed to grind those up, not cut them." Harry pointed out, trying to keep his voice even. Draco glared at him, and was about to open his mouth to speak when his eye's looked down at the book. He was indeed supposed to grind up the ingredient he had on the table. "Oh...You're right." Draco said, his laced with disappointment. He had wanted to prove the great Harry Potter wrong, but he had failed. The raven haired young man had been right. With this blow to his ego, Draco finished preparing the ingredients in silence, a shroud of forlornness once again surrounding him.

It didn't take too long for the potion to finish brewing, as Harry had bought one of the best cauldrons on the market, that insured that it could brew potions quicker than any other cauldron.

"After you Malfoy.." Harry said, giving the blond haired young man a smirk. Draco glared at him, grimacing before taking a goblet and dipping it into the brew. He gulped the nasty smelling potion in one go, face screwing up at how gross it tasted.

Harry watched him for a moment, wondering when the potion would take effect. He thought it best to ask Malfoy about his worst traits, as he wasn't sure if the Slytherin would start spilling his guts about his worst traits. "What are your worst traits?" Harry asked, doing his best to keep his voice calm, devoid of the fact that he was actually really happy to know what Draco's worst habits and personality traits were.

Draco swallowed, trying to fight the effects of the potion, but it was useless. He found himself ready to tell Harry Potter all of his worst characteristics. "I'm quite selfish." He started, giving Harry a whole backstory about how being an only child to a prominent and wealthy pureblood family as well as the fact that he had been given anything he ever asked for. There had only been a few instances when his parents hadn't given him what he had asked for, and he had grown bitter over it for a while before sulking around the manor for a while more before finally getting over it. "I need to have everything my way." Draco explained. If Malfoy had been a Muggle the phrase 'My way or the highway' would have been used quite often. "And I will do whatever it takes to achieve that." Draco said, wondering if he would spew any more of his negative traits to someone one whom he had once considered his arch enemy and rival. "I am quite proud, valuing family and blood over anything else. The Malfoy's were...are, a great, and powerful family, and I am proud to be one. I think that those that have Muggle blood in them are beneath me and should not be treated as equals. Muggles are inferior to us in every way and should be treated like second class citizens." Malfoy wanted to stop, praying that this was the last thing he would tell Harry.

Harry was speechless, although it wasn't anything shocking, it was still very odd hearing Malfoy admit his faults outloud. After a few minutes of silence the boys had concluded that the potion had worn off on Draco, which was a relief to the Slytherin.

Without saying anything Harry took his own goblet and filled his cup with the potion. _Here goes. _Harry took a big swallow of the drink, grimacing at the foul taste of potion. He blinked a few times, feeling words start to form on the tip of his tongue.

"I'm very stubborn." Harry explained, telling Draco about all the times where he wouldn't listen to others advice, especially from his friends. Hermione had always warned him not to do one thing or another, or that he should work on his homework. But he never listened to her, especially in their earlier Hogwarts years when Hermione tried to deter Harry from breaking curfew. "I am also quite impulsive, frequently acting before I think. And it has gotten me into some tough spots." Harry told him, going into detail about the various times he had chosen to think before acting.

Harry's face had paled once he had finished speaking. He had told Draco his biggest flaws, and he felt horrible about it. But for once there wasn't a smirk, or scheming glint in the Slytherin's eye. Infact Draco Malfoy looked quite somber, he too not saying a word as the rest of the class finished spilling their guts to each other. The two former enemies cleaned up their work station before settling back to their respective sides so they could end the class and head to lunch.

"That was bloody horrible." Ron said, shaking his head as they left the greenhouses and headed back into the castle. "Made me lose my appetite." Ron said with a groan, which actually caused Harry to crack a small smile.

"I'm sure you'll be ok once you see all the food." Harry said, patting his friend on the back. "And it wasn't that bad for me." He admitted, surprised at the words that had come out of his mouth. It could have been worse, and for that Harry was grateful it hadn't been a strong potion. He couldn't help but mull over the traits of Draco, he actually pitied the boy for becoming a spoiled brat. He wondered what it would have been like if Draco had been raised in a more tolerant home. Harry was glad to see that Draco had at least matured a bit since the last time they had been in school together. He almost seemed like a different person.


	4. Slug Club

**A/N: Sorry for the long delay between chapters, work and life took over for a while, but I'm back! So I hope you enjoy this new chapter! Let me know what you think of it!**

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The Slug Club was having its first meeting after dinner on Tuesday about three weeks after classes started. Harry knew a few of those that were going such as Ginny, Hermione and Cormac McLaggen for they were there when Slughorn first started the club when he started teaching potions again. Harry was pretty happy that they were going, not so much that Cormac was going because he seemed to continue to flirt with Hermione, even though she was with Ron.

"Harry! Guess who else is coming to Slug Club tonight?" Ginny said, a big smile on her face as she sat down next to him for breakfast.

"Who?" Harry asked, genuinely curious as to who else was invited to the club. He figured there were a few people he wouldn't know from other houses, but he couldn't think of who else he knew that was invited. Those that had been in the club when he was in it were obviously included in the club this year, he assumed that there would be a few new members this year since Slughorn was returning to teach potions.

"Michael!" Ginny said, a bit too enthusiastic for Harry's liking. He had been in a good mood when he had woken up, having slept well and was excited about breakfast as well as for the first Slug Club meeting, which always proved entertaining even if it bit awkwardly so. But hearing Ginny mention Michael Corner was not only going to Slug Club with them, but also the fact that she was using his first name made him quite annoyed. He had no idea that the two of them were close enough to be on a first name basis with each other. It made him a bit uncomfortable, but he didn't know how to bring up it with Ginny. He knew if he said something to her she'd get upset at him, accusing him of being jealous of her having a friendship with someone just because they happened to be male. She'd go on to say that she was allowed to have male friends just like he was allowed to have female friends. Harry didn't have many female friends, although he did seem to have plenty of admirers, many of whom would giggle at him in the hallways when he walked by, and who couldn't be any older than fourteen. Ginny used to glare at them whenever she was with their sight, hoping they would be deterred. Some were, but there were also those that still tried to get Harry's attention. Ginny eventually gave up when Harry said it didn't bother him. In truth it was wearing on Harry that Ginny was so jealous of girls that were far too young for him. Shad had no reason to feel insecure about their relationship, Harry couldn't imagine being someone else.

His mood had now soured considerably at the mention of the Ravenclaw boy. He didn't like Ginny spending so much time with him, it made Harry quite jealous, even though he assured himself there was nothing to be jealous about.

He did his best to quell the annoyance in his voice, he hoped Ginny wouldn't notice. "Oh?" Harry asked, taking a large bite of eggs to quiet himself from saying anything more.

Ginny was too excited to notice his annoyance and continued with what she was going to say. "Yes!" The redhead explained, going into detail about how excited she was, and how much they had in common. She went on to say that she hadn't realized just how smart he was at potions, and how he was helping her with all her potions homework.

That would explain why Harry had been seeing less of his girlfriend recently, she was off studying with some guy. Harry didn't want to let his imagination and jealosy get the best of him. He had to remind himself that this was Ginny Weasley, the girl who had been in love with him since she was eight or nine years old.

"That's great Gin." Harry said, giving her a small smile. "I'm glad he's helping you with your Potions work, but you know you could have come to me if you needed help." While Harry was no expert in potions, he thought he knew enough to at least be able to help his girlfriend with her own homework.

It was then Ginny's fiery temper decided to make an appearance. "Harry, you're not exactly an expert at Potions." She said a bit harshly for Harrys liking. "Michael's taking N.E.W.T level Potions this year! And I know _you're_ not Harry." She said with a sneer. It wasn't like Ginny to say such a thing, then again when her temper flared Harry was never prepared for what came out of her mouth.

Ron who was also at breakfast sat there with his mouth hanging open, a piece of toast in his hand. It took only a moment for Ron to recover before his own face went red with anger. "Ginerva! You have no right to talk to Harry like that!" He said, animosity lacing his words. The two Weasley siblings started to argue back and forth as if Harry wasn't there, comparing grades of not only him and Michael, but to everyone they could think of. The argument only subsided when Ginny got up, huffing saying she had to go to class. There was still more then enough time for Ginny to get to class as breakfast wasn't even half over, but he suspected that she just needed time to cool down.

Hermione, Ron and Harry were sitting in the common room by the fire a few minutes before they had to go to the Slug Club meeting. Harry hadn't seen Ginny all day, and that hadn't bothered him in the slightest. It was as they were getting ready to head to the portrait that Ginny came rushing downstairs, her face flushed.

"Uh..Harry, can I talk to you for a second?" She asked, looking at the floor rather then her boyfriend. "Yeah." Harry said simply and a bit gruffly. Hermione and Ron exited the portrait hole to give the other two some privacy. "I wanted to apologize for how I acted this morning. It wasn't right of me to say what I did do you." Ginny said, her face going red with shame. She hopped Harry would accept her apology and they could move on and have a nice evening together.

Harry pulled her into a hug, letting her know he accepted her apology. "Let's go, the others are waiting." He said, giving her a quick kiss before exiting the portrait hole.

Harry was delighted to see many of his friends at the Slug Club. Slughorn had expanded the number of members in his club. The Boy Who Lived saw that Neville and Luna were seated around the large round table, and to his dismay so once again was Cormic as well as Michael. Harry suppressed a groan at the sight of the Ravenclaw boy, but noticed that a huge grin broke out on Ginny's face. Before Harry could say anything, his giflriend took his hand and pulled him into the seats next to Michael. He was more then miffed that Ginny had decided to sit next to Miachel, with Ron on Harry's other side, Hermione seated next to him, and to Harry's annoyance, Cormac had decided to move seats so he could sit next to Hermione.

Cormac it seemed couldn't take no for an answer. Despite the fact that Hermione and Ron were clearly together, and had been for quite some time now, Cormac still tried to hit on Hermione, flashing her a dazzling smile.

Harry wanted to enjoy the night as best he could, he tried conversing with his friends that were at the meeting, but he couldn't help thinking about Ginny and Michael, especially since they seemed to be engaged in deep discussions about Potions. He was also getting annoyed with the way Cormac was acting towards Hermione, constantly trying to get her attention and laughing way too loudly at whatever she said.

Harry was more then ready to get up and leave the table alone when he saw the large door open and a blond haired young man enter. He recognized who it was almost immedietly despite the express the young man was wearing. It was none other then Draco Malfoy who once again looked like someone had kicked his puppy. Clearly Draco didn't want to be there by the look on his face, but for the life of him Harry couldn't figure out _why _Draco was there to begin with. He would never have expected Slughorn to include Malfoy in the Club, especially because his father was a known Death Eater and all around prat.

"Ah! Mr. Malfoy!" Slughorn exclaimed loudly and jubilantly, "Glad you could make it!" A chair magically started to make its way across the room, situating itself between Harry and Ginny. There was some quick shuffling done by the students to make room for the new chair, and Harry wondered if this day could get any worse.

"Potter…" Malfoy said rather quietly and without the usual maliciousness to his words. "Malfoy." Harry responded with a slightly questioning tone to his voice. This was awkward to say the least and Harry had no idea how to proceed. The two of them very well couldn't exchange insults all night. Harry took a bite of his dessert pondering what he was going to say to the Slytherin. It would be polite to ask how his family was doing, especially since he was genuinely curious as to what happened to the Malfoy family after the war.

The Malfoy family had managed to avoid going to Azkaban, laying low for a few months before word surfaced that Lucius Malfoy was working for a family business, their respectable apothecary where he runs the shop in Diagon Alley.

"So...how's your family been?" Harry asked, genuinely wanted to know how the Malfoys were doing. There was a look of shock on Malfoy's face when Harry asked him the question. He was even more shocked that Harry was sincere in his question, instead of trying to get a rise out of the Slytherin.

"They're….doing well...Father enjoys running his shop.." Draco explained, going into a bit of detail about how since putting the shop in Diagon Alley, business had done well. It was a slow start at first, but once people saw that Lucius was trying to make an effort to earn an honest living the apothecary had profited. "My mother has enjoyed selling and even helping develop wine for the shop." He said, a faint smile on his face at the fact that his mother had found her niche in the world.

Despite all of the problems Harry had had with the Malfoys he was truly happy that they had been able to make an honest living in the Wizarding World. "That's...really something Malfoy." Harry said, awe tinging his words a slight smile on his face to let Draco know that Harry was truly happy for him.

"Thanks…" Draco said, giving the Gryffindor a small smile in return. Harry nodded in response, eye's catching the expression on Rons face. It went from astonished at hearing Harry and Malfoy speak so civilly to one another to highly annoyed in the span of a few seconds when he caught Cormac whisper something in Hermione's ear. "Oi! Cormac! Get your filthy mouth away from my girlfriend." Ron shouted, his temper flaring at having to deal with Cormac flirting with Hermione all night. While Hermione did her best to not encourage the young man, he clearly didn't know when to back off.

Ron had stood up at the table, all eye's on him. His breathing was labored as he fixed Cormac with an heated stare. It looked like he was ready to grind the kid into the table for merely flirting with Hermione. Harry grabbed his arm and pulled him back a bit. "Ron...leave it..it's not worth it. Let's go.." Harry told his best friend, mumbling an apology to Slughorn as they were leaving rather abruptly. Hermione followed them out shortly after giving Cormac a piece of her mind.

She felt horrible about how Ron felt, how he had gotten angry, jealous and insecure. She had tried multiple times throughout the night to tell Cormac to leave her alone. He would comply for all of about five minutes before he was trying to get her attention again. Hermione wanted to get a chance to conversate with other members of the Club, see what had happened to them over the summer. Hermione only managed to hear some of what Nevelle had said before Cormac tried to capture her attention, so make sly comment. The young woman had done a lot of eye rolling that night, so she was pretty grateful when Ron flipped out, looking like he was going to deck Cormac in the face. After a few choice words she for Cormac she left the Slug Club and caught up with Ron and Harry in the hall.

"Wait! Ron!" She called, wanting a change to explain herself.

"Leave it Hermione...You didn't do anything wrong..that nit should have gotten a punch in the face." Ron said, his face still flushed, but his breathing had calmed down. Now it was Ron's turn to apologize, he looked a bit sheepish that he had even acted in such a manner. "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have freaked out like that...just seeing him talking with you the whole night..and then he was whispering in your ear...I don't know why you stay with he.." Ron told her, mumbling the last few words.

They had had this talk so many times that it was starting to wear on Hermione. She understood his insecurites, but thought he had moved past them, especially becuase of the battle last year. A sigh escaped the young womans lips. "Ron...how many times do I have to tell you. I'm with you because you're an amzing person. You're so kind, so funny and you have such a smart mind." She told him, going over to him and wrapping her arms around him, pulling him into a warm hug. "I love you and only you Ronald." The Gryffindor spoke, her words firm, trying to reassure Ron how much she loved him. She could only hope it was enough. She didn't know how else to help him with his insecurities. If he had been a Muggle they could have gone to couples counseling, or Ron could have seen a therapist to work out his issues, but she wasn't sure such things existed in the Wizarding World.

She took his hand in hers and started to go back towards the Gryffindor dorms. "Lets get a good night sleep and you'll feel much better tomorrow." Hermione told her, hoping to calm him down.

Harry had thought they would have a normal, quiet year at Hogwarts, but he was thinking that was never going to happen. He was more tired now than ever and couldn't wait to climb into his soft bed and sleep off the bad mood he had been in since breakfast.


	5. Hallowe'en

**Authors Note: Thank you so much for all the views! It means so much to me that so many people are reading my story and enjoying it so much. I would LOVE if you guys could leave me a review and tell me what you think!**

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It was the night of the Halloween feast, something Harry had been looking forward to all week. After a busy few weeks of Quidditch practice, and mountains of home work the professors had finally given them a light night of work in light of the Halloween Feast. He'd be able to spend a nice night celebrating with his friends and girlfriend, something that hadn't happened in quite a while. Both him and Ginny had been busy with homework and Quidditch and hadn't been able to spend much time together, when they did it was mostly just cuddling on the couch by the fire, or a few snogging sessions.

Harry wanted to spend a nice night with Ginny especially since things had been a bit tense between them. Ginny had worked on keeping her temper down and Harry tried not to let her study sessions with Michael bother him too much. Some days were better than others, but he trusted Ginny.

The four of them, Ron, Ginny, Harry and Hermione were seated comfortably in the Great Hall waiting for the large golden platters to fill themselves with food, the goblets with drink. He chatted with Ginny and Ron about Quidditch and the hopes of beating Hufflepuff in the next match.

The feast finally got under way with bouts of cheering as hungry students saw their dinner materialize in front of them. Harry felt that the house elves had surely outdone themselves this year, there were quite a few dishes he had never seen before and chuckled when Ron began filling his plate with whatever it could hold, regardless of whether or not he knew what he was eating.

"Ronald you know you just put sheep intestines on your plate." Hermione told her a look of both concern and disgust on her face. She wondered if he even cared that hew as eating something so strange. But Ron just shrugged and piled a few more things on his plate before grabbing a fork and digging in. When he took a bit of the sheep intestines he grinned, they didn't taste as bad as they sounded. "Hermione…" he said through a mouth of food, "You should try some! They're delicious." He grinned widely at the disgusted look on her face.

It was then that the large doors of the Great Hall opened, much to the surprise of everyone in the room. Harry had thought that everyone was already at the Halloween feast, but he had thought wrong. He didn't recognize the Gryffindor that had entered the Great Hall at first. But once he did, he couldn't help but gasp at who it was.

The young woman looked like a shell of her former self, much skinnier than she had been in their sixth year, her face held a look of someone who had seen a lot in life. She looked quite tired, and a bit lost, as if she didn't know if she belonged there. She carried herself as if there were a weight on her shoulders. It took Ron a moment longer to recognize the girl and when he did he didn't know what to say. "Blimey...that's Lavender!" He said trying to keep his voice down.

Harry couldn't believe he hadn't seen Lavender before tonight. She was a Gryffindor for goodness sakes! He should have noticed that she was at school. Yet raking through his memories, he couldn't recall seeing her either in classes, halls or even the dormitories. She had made herself invisible, and not by use of magic but by reducing her presence around everyone. She was no longer the bubbly friendly person she once was, the war and subsequent werewolf attack she had endured had changed her. She was not so quiet and kept to herself that not many had noticed her presence. Harry doubted he would have noticed her at all had she come late to the feast.

It was an uncomfortable few minutes as most of the Gryffindors stared at the young woman, the girl gazing around, trying to figure out where to sit at the Gryffindor table. It looked quite full as everyone was enjoying the feast. Ron decided to take matters into his own hands, seeing the poor girl struggle, and offered her a seat with them. "Oi! Lavender, there's room over here." He shouted, trying to break the tension that was in the room. Clearly most students hadn't recognized nor seen Lavender much at school for when Ron called her name there were many gasps throughout the hall.

Lavender quickly made her way over the table as Ron and Harry shuffled down to make room for her. "Thanks.." She said quietly, sitting down and getting a few things to eat. The feast resumed, almost as if nothing had happened. Yet Harry and Ron knew something big had happened. They had failed to notice one of their own house mates was back at school. Harry felt horrible about it, he found it hard to wrap his head around how he had failed to see that Lavender Brown was back at Hogwarts.

Harry couldn't help but wonder _why _Lavender Brown was late to the feast. He had heard about her getting attacked by Greyback and the uncertainty of her survival, but when she hadn't turned up among the dead he assumed she had survived. He wondered if she had gotten bitten by Greyback, thus having the unfortunate ailment of becoming a werewolf in the light of the full moon. It would make sense why she was late to the feast, for she would need to take the Wolfsbane potion to ease the sickness that afflicted her, and all those that would transform into werewolves in the coming week.

Everything made sense to him now and he wondered if Ron had caught on. He figured Hermione had figured out what had happened to Lavender and there was no doubt that they would be talking about it that night.

The next day they had Charms and both Harry and Ron made sure to notice Lavender that day. They decided to sit in the back with her, Ron giving the young woman a warm, encouraging smile. "Morning Lavender." Ron said as they settled into their seats. "Ready for another exciting day of Charms?" He asked, giving a slight chuckle. Sometimes Charms could be really boring, the spells they had to learn either too simple or too ridiculous to be taken serious. Lavender gave a small smile in response, nodding slightly. She rarely spoke, her dirty blonde hair frequently hiding her most of her face as she sat in the back of the classroom.

Hermione had given them a quizzical look, watching them go to the back of the classroom. They had talked about Lavender Brown for quite a while the night before, Ron commenting how different she looked since they had last spent any time with her, which had been in their sixth year. She had been a bit plump back then, with curves that Ron had really enjoyed. Now she had lost quite a bit of weight, and looked quite skinny. Gone were the curves Ron had enjoyed and in their place was a girl with a slight frame and pale skin. She hadn't expected the boys to be so forward about trying to bring Lavender back into a more public setting. She figured they would leave her alone for the most part, or at least keep their interactions limited to the Gryffindor Tower. Hermione wasn't annoyed or upset that Ron was giving his ex-girlfriend attention, she found it quite admirable that he was willing to help her become accustomed to people and even coping with her new life as a werewolf.

"Good morning everyone!" Flitwick said excitedly, stepping up to his podium where he taught the students how to perform charms. "Today we will be practicing the Flame Freezing charm." There were exclamations of excitement throughout the class. Harry had read about the Flame Freezing charm, and it seemed really cool. Instead of the flame radiating heat, it was more like a cool summer breeze, the flame tickling the caster of the charm.

Flitwick demonstrated how to perform the charm, Hermione up front was able to successfully perform the charm within minutes of the class trying it out for themselves. Some things would never change as Harry was having trouble getting the wand movement just right. He looked over at Ron and saw had successfully performed the charm and couldn't help but feel a little miffed. He was about to ask his best friend for help when Ron spoke first, but not to Harry, rather Ron had asked if Lavender needed any help. She had looked like she was struggling with the charm, her voice not projecting enough, and wand work was a bit weak.

Ron scooted a bit closer to her, showing her the charm first before helping her with the wand swishing, and finally telling her to firmly say the incantation. It took a couple tries before Lavender had the charm down so that it worked perfectly. When she had the frozen flame in her hand, and felt the gentle breeze it created she broke into a large grin her face lighting up. Ron! This is amazing!" She exclaimed, and Harry couldn't help but smile at how genuinely happy she looked. There was a brief glimmer of her former self, the girl who was confident in herself and her skills.

Hermione heard the exclamation behind her and turned to watch the joy on Lavenders face. She also couldn't help but smile, happy Ron had been able to help the young girl have a truly wonderful moment when her life seemed to be so bleak. Gone were any jealous feelings Hermione may have felt in the past. She knew how much Ron loved her, and that Lavender would be nothing more than an ex-girlfriend. Hermione was glad that both Ron and Lavender had matured enough in the past few years that they could get along well together. Maybe even become friends and that was something Hermione was okay with. Lavender had been through a lot, and although Hermione had noticed her in a few of her classes, she hadn't bothered to talk much with the Gryffindor. Lavender had created an air about her that told others she didn't want to be bothered, that she wanted to be left alone, when she was noticed at all.

For once the day had ended on a high note. Lavender had spent much of the day with them, eating lunch and doing homework together before she had to excuse herself to go visit Professor Slughorn. SHe made the excuse she had to ask him a question about their homework assignment, but the Trio knew the real reason. They didn't let Lavender know that they knew her secret, better for her to tell them when she was ready to do such a thing. For now they would take baby steps with their new friend, in hopes of forming another life long friend in the process.


	6. Christmas Hogsmeade Visit

**Authors Note: Thank you so much for all the reviews, favorites and follows! It means so much to me! Lupa, a reviewer mentioned that Lavender could only be transformed into a werewolf if Greyback was one when he attacked her. I've done a bunch of research on this to keep it as close to canon as possible, and no one is really sure if Greyback was in his human form or not. Because in the book it's mentioned a "grey blur" which was Greyback possibly in werewolf form. That's what I'm going with for my story, because Rowling never spelled it out, and it was left ambiguous, there is some wiggle room to portray what happened to Lavender. Hope that cleared up anything that was confusing!**

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The months leading up the Christmas Hogsmeade visit had been pretty peaceful. The Gryffindor Quidditch team had won a big match against Ravenclaw, putting them in second place for the House Cup. Their team was strong this year, with both Harry and Ginny and Ron on the team, they were able to win most of their matches. While everyone's skills were a bit rusty from not playing for well over a year, with a few extra practices everyone was able to get up to par with the rest of the Quidditch teams. Even Ron's skill and confidence level had improved since the last time he had played.

Harry and Ginny hadn't been fighting, Harry found it not worth the head and heartache that followed a fight with his girlfriend. He did his best to not let her quirks get to him, spending a bit of time by himself, wandering the halls, or up in his bed studying. Ginny hadn't really noticed that he preferred to spend some more time by himself instead of with her and the others down in the common room and Harry wasn't sure if he should have been bothered by that. Overall he tried not to think and worry too much about his relationship with Ginny, because when that happened they tended to get into fights more often.

Harry had asked Ginny one evening if she wanted to visit Hogsmede with him, the last one before the Christmas holidays started. She happily agreed to go, eager to spend some quality time as a couple with her boyfriend. The two couples, Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione, bundled up in coats, hats and scarves to combat against the cold December day. Making their way to the castle grounds with the other students Harry couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of some students getting pelted with snowballs. He enjoyed the Christmas holidays immensely, and couldn't wait to give Ginny her Christmas gift. He had gotten her a silver necklace with two intertwining hearts. But Christmas wasn't for another few weeks, Harry wondering vaguely what his friends would get him, Hermione would probably get him a few books, Ron and Ginny would most definitely get him something Quidditch related.

The walk to the The Three Broomsticks was pretty quiet, Harry held Ginny's hand the whole way. They chatted about what they wanted to do during break, as well as the homework they had to do. It was nice to have some easy conversations about everyday life, instead of fighting about something stupid. The four of them grabbed a table by one of the windows that overlooked the streets outside, so they could students pass by, laughing and enjoying the time away from the school. "I'll get us some drinks." Harry suggests, pushing his chair back and going up to the bar to get them all pitches of butterbeer.

There were a few people in line in front of him, his thoughts drifting when he heard a voice behind him say his name. "Potter? You going to order anything, or just stand there in la-la land?" The voice asked, causing Harry to turn around and get quite a big shock. Standing behind him was none other than Draco Malfoy. Harry would never have expected to see the Slytherin out and about like a normal person. He figured the blond-haired young man spent most of this time brooding in the Slytherin dorms. "Oh..Yeah Four Butterbeers please." Harry told the witch digging into his pockets for some money to pay the older woman waiting impatiently for Harry to get out of her way so she could serve the next customer.

"Make it five." Draco said, putting money down on the counter. To say Harry was shocked would have been an understatement. Harry wondered if he had heard Draco correctly, if there was something wrong with his former nemesis. Harry was at a loss as to what to do next, he was confused about why Draco would even want to pay for him and his friends drinks, let alone want anything to do with him. "Uh..You don't have to do that…" Harry mumbled, pulling his own money out of his pocket. It was beyond awkward that Draco was paying for drinks, yet a small part of Harry was pleased with the idea of Draco having a change of heart, becoming a decent human being. "Don't worry about it Potter, I just want to buy you a drink, it won't kill you." Draco drawled, rolling his eyes slightly at how ridiculous Harry was being.

Draco wanted to prove to the Boy Who Lived that he was no longer the young man he was during their school years. He had gone through quite the transformation during his sixth year, as well as as a result of the Final Battle. To say he got knocked down a few pegs was an understatement. While it was hard to let go of most of his prejudices and views of the wizarding world, as well as the famous Harry Potter and the Golden Trio, he was doing his best. He was also doing his best to work on his anger and sharp tongue, especially when he spoke to the first years, the little ones who didn't yet know their way around the labyrinth of Hogwarts.

This was the first big step towards becoming a completely different man, to change the way people thought of not only the name Draco Malfoy, but the Malfoy family as a whole. His father and mother were already well under their way to proving to the wizarding world that they were a good family, that they were not the evil people everyone thought them to be.

Harry recovered best he could from the shock of Malfoy genuinely being kind to him, with no malicious reasoning behind his actions. "Thanks Malfoy…" Harry said, giving the Slytherin a small smile. Harry thought the appropriate response to Draco buying him and his friends drinks would be to offer him a seat at their table. Especially since it seemed as if Draco didn't have many friends this year. "Uh..Would you like to join us Malfoy?" Harry asked, trying to sound friendly, but a bit of wariness was in his voice, as if he wasn't sure if Malfoy would sit with them or not.

Draco was a bit taken aback by Harry's offer for him to sit with him and his group of friends, he had expected to pay for their drinks then go sit by the fire by himself for a while before going to look around the shops. The fact that Harry offered Draco a seat with his friends was a big step forward for both of them, it meant that Harry no longer viewed Draco as an enemy or a rival, but as an acquaintance, possibly a friend.

"I don't see why not." Draco drawled giving Harry a slight nod before following the black-haired young man over to his table. A foreign feeling flitted through Draco, he was actually nervous about sitting with the Trio and their significant others. He knew they would judge him for his past actions, but he hopped maybe if they got to talking he could let them know that he wasn't the same he was in previous school years.

Everyone's eye's widened at the sight of Draco following Harry back to the table. It looked like they all wanted to say something to Harry, akin to why they hell would he bring Draco Malfoy to sit with them. Harry was trying to think of something to say that would appease his friends. "Malfoy graciously offered to pay for our drinks.." Harry started off saying, before explaining that he had offered Malfoy to join them, and surprisingly he had agreed. Everyone gave the Slytherin a slight smile or nod before shooting Harry a look of anger and confusion.

There was silence for a few minutes before Hermione asked Draco a question. "So...how is your family doing?" She was genuinely curious about how the Malfoy family was doing. They had kept a low profile despite opening a successful apothecary in Diagon Alley. There name hadn't appeared much in the paper since the war had ended, so not much was known about their well-being.

Many things ran through Draco's mind upon hearing the girls question. There had been hard times for his family, a lot of fighting, tears, sadness and anger. They had worked through it as a family, from a broken and lost pure blood family, to one that had found its place in the world again, and making the family name better than what it was before. "We are doing quite well." Draco said rather formally. "Father and Mother run an apothecary shop in Diagon Alley now. Father wanted to change how the world viewd the Malfoy name, he set out to do that in an honest way through his shop. Mother enjoys creating wine for the shop.." Draco trailed off, a warm smile on his face at how happy both his parents seemed running the shop. "Business has picked up as well.." He added, reminiscing about how hard it had been when the shop first started out. Money hadn't been a problem when setting up shop, but reputaion had been for when peole had first heard that the Malfoys had opened an apothecary shop in Diagon Alley there had been a lot of outrage, that had been one of the times the family ahd made the Daily Prophet. 'Outrage at former death eaters shop opening.' Had been the headline, his father had quickly quelled the rumors, making his own statement and getting it on the front page of the Daily Prophet. His father had explained that he was no longer the man he once was, he had realized the error of his ways, asking for the wizarding worlds forgiveness and hoped they would come to his shop where high quality apothecary goods could be found as well as a high quality selection of wines could be purchased. It had been a bit of a blow to Lucius Malfoy's ego, but he felt he had no choice if he wanted to become a better person. His pride had to be lowered a bit if he wanted to grow to become a respectable man instead of one who was feared and hated.

Those at the table were genuinely impressed with what Malfoy had to say. The fact that the Malfoys could go from a name most people detested, to make it into something meaningful that the wizarding world would stand behind. "Malfoy that's quite impressive, a very respectable job for a former Death Eater." Hermione stated. Draco didn't know how to respond to her words, a flash of anger went through him, but he realized she wasn't being malicious with her words she was truly amazed with how far his family had come. To go from hated Death Eaters to respectable members of the wizarding world who own a shop was something not many had achieved thus it was quite an impressive feat. Draco managed to return a small smile to the girl before taking a breath to quell the anger that had built up inside of him at her comment. "Thanks Granger…" He said, "It wasn't easy…" Draco added before thoughts of all the struggles his family had to go through invaded his thoughts. He tuned everyone out for a while as they continued to talk about Diagon Alley and the state it was in. Most of the shops had been repaired that had suffered damage during the Death Eaters attacks and invasions, a few still needed some work, but that would come in time.

The group of them talked for quite a while, Harry buying everyone another round of butterbeers, Draco joining in on the conversation every once in a while. Things weren't as tense or awkward as Harry would have thought they could have been, although there were still a few heated words exchanged between the group, they weren't nearly as bad as they had been when they were younger. They debated about how Slughorn was running the Potions class as well as how absurd the Slug Club meetings were, joking about past meetings, and potions mishaps.

"Harry..it's almost time for dinner, we should get back to the castle." Ginny suddenly said, gazing out the window to see that the weak winter sun was setting. They had been at Hogsmeade far longer than normal, a few mores students had joined them at the Leaky Cauldron including Neville, Luna and Seamus Finnigan.

Draco had excused himself shortly after they had gotten there, saying he had to finish some homework but had expressed how he had actually enjoyed conversing with the group. Telling Harry that perhaps he would hang out with them another time if it was alright with him. Harry had agreed commenting that Draco was much less bratty then he had been the last time they had been in school together. Draco had quipped a small smirk and bid his farewells.

"I don't think I could eat another bite.." Ron groaned as they got left the Leaky Cauldron and headed back to the castle with the last of the Hogwarts students. "Ronald, I'm sure your massive stomach will have room for something, the walk will make you famished." Hermione teased, eliciting a laugh from everyone. "Yeah you're right…" Ron followed, taking Hermione's hand in his own as they made their way to the castle.

An unexpectedly wonderful day of chatting with friends, making possibly new ones, and having a good time was something Harry was grateful for. For there was an inkling deep inside of him that even though Voldemort was gone, he still wasn't going to have a completely drama free year at school.


	7. The Match

**Authors Note: My first critical review came in! And boy it was a doozy, a bit absurd. Franklin since I can't PM you because you're a guest I will address you here. I think it's quite the stretch to call both Lucius and Draco genocide. **

**Yes Lucius has probably killed people, but to use the word genocide is more than a bit extreme. Luscious is a more than likely a murderer, but not someone who committed genocide, which is the deliberate killing of a large group of people, like Muggles. Voldemort would be better fitted to that term.**

** As for your statement that Hermione "imprisoned" Rita Skeeter in a jar is a bit of a stretch, especially when you failed to mention that Rita was in her animagus form, a beetle and a jar would be an appropriate place to keep her until appropriate action could be taken. You use such harsh and ridiculous language for some situations which don't call for it. **

**You're coming off as sounding quite angry and upset! I do agree that Luscious should be in Azkaban, but in canon he is not. He managed to avoid Azkaban by aiding the Ministry then went into hiding. I'm sure he did some soul searching while laying low. I don't see his views of blood purity and muggle-borns and the like changing any time soon if at all. He will always see purebloods as higher up than anyone else, but he has realized that the safety of his family is more important than being with Voldemort.**

**By forgiving Draco of his past suddenly means they have lost all morals? By the time Draco was branded with the Dark Mark in his sixth year and was told he had to kill Dumbledore he knew he was in way over his head. He agonized all year about having to kill someone, and not just any someone, but Dumbledore. They could tell Draco was a different person when he came back to Hogwarts, even at the final battle Draco saved Harry! He may not ever be as "good" as the Golden Trio, but he certainly isn't all bad either. He has his own morals to work out. **

**And the fact that Harry and his friends are willing to talk to Draco is a step forward. They will never be best friends, but they can at least be amicable or polite towards each other. Also Draco never committed any genocide, I have no idea why you lumped him in with Lucius.**

**Sorry for the long note! I just had to respond to Franklin in some detail.**

**Sorry for the long wait! Work got insanely busy and I didn't have much time to write, but now I do so enjoy!**

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The Gryffindor Quidditch team was trailing behind by a win, in second place for the House Cup, bested of course by Slytherin. The next match was critical if they wanted to pull ahead of Slytherin and possibly win the house cup. Harry had scheduled extra practices ot make sure everyone would be at the top of their game and win the match quickly. The drawback to having extra practices was that Harry and Ginny didn't get to spend much time together in the quiet of the common room. Not that they had seen each other much in the past few weeks.

Ginny didn't want to do her homework in the common room with rest of them very often, preferring the library and the company of Michael Corner. Harry joined them a few times, but each time he said he would go with Ginny to the library she huffed and puffed at him, saying that she didn't trust him and needed to stop being so jealous. It was the same argument they had been having since she first became friends with Micahel. Harry had tried to explain to her that he wasn't jealous, that she could have guy friends but she seemed not to listen to him. She was becoming a broken record and Harry was getting tired of it, but he wasn't sure what to do. He loved Ginny and didn't want to break up with her, but if she didn't come to see that he wasn't jealous he wasn't sure he could be with her.

They got along perfectly on the Quidditch pitch, coordinating their moves perfectly to make their team as strong as possible. They hopped it would be easy to win against Slytherin, but with the way they enjoyed playing dirty Harry wasn't too sure.

Harry and the team were at breakfast the morning of the match, his stomach in knots at the thought of the upcoming match. He hadn't been able to eat much that morning despite Ginny telling him that he should eat something. Managing a few bites of toast before they had to leave, Harry smiled at Ginny who returned a warm smile of her own. "Don't worry Harry, we've got this. You're the best Seeker we've ever had. We'll win in no time." Ginny said, reassuringly hoping to instill some confidence in her boyfriend. Harry took her hand in his, giving it a squeeze before they went to the Quidditch pitch to get ready for the match.

The match was intense to say the least and had lasted longer than Harry thought it would. The Slytherins weren't going to give up the lead easy and made the Gryffindor team work doubly hard for the win. It didn't help that they played dirtier than normal, Hooch only catching half of the things they did. Harry finally caught the snitch and the packed stands erupted in cheers, jeers from the Slytherins but that didn't matter to Harry. They had won the match, putting them ahead of Slytherin.

Landing near the Gryffindor locker rooms his whole team converged around him patting him on the back and giving him hugs or claps on the shoulder in congratulation. They were more than grateful Harry was able to win the game for them, catching the snitch after over two hours of playing. There had been quite a few stoppages in the game because the Slytherins had played especially dirty trying to get the Gryffindors to fall off their brooms. Harry thought Hooch was about the call the game on account of how dirty the Slytherins had been playing, but it was during that thought process that he spotted the snitch hovering off to his left. He had quickly made his way over to the little golden ball, grapsing it in his outstretched hand before it had a chance to fly off again.

Harry merely nodded and smiled along with his team mates, glad they had won the game, but his mind was on other things. Like the fact that he had barely seen Ginny, and really wanted to spend time with her. He would put his foot down tonight about her spending so much time in the library, instead of the common room. He was beginning to feel like she didn't want to spend time with him and that greatly bothered Harry.

He was brought out of his thoughts by someone he didn't expect to hear. "Nice job Potter." The voice said sincerely, Harry looking over his shoulder eyes widening at who had spoken to him. His teammates had made their way to the changing room, leaving Harry alone with Draco Malfoy. He had expected Malfoy's words to be drenched in sarcasm, but it was the opposite. Harry was at a loss for a moment for words before he stuttered out a "Th-Thanks Malfoy." Draco gave him a small lazy smile. "Looks like the Slytherins gave you quite the hard time." The Slytherin said, his tone changing to something more serious as if he actually felt sympathy for the Gryffindor's in regards to how dirty the Slytherins had played. "Y-Yeah..they did. But nothing we couldn't handle." Harry told him, unsure of how to react to Draco's words, attempting to show Draco a triumphant smile. He wasn't sure if he succeeded but he appreciated Draco's words none the less. Malfoy nodded glancing around a bit wondering what to say next. Wanting to avoid an awkward situation Harry excused himself saying he needed to head to the locker room to change and shower.

The shower was a welcome relief, his worry and thoughts about the day melting along with the dirt and sweat from the match. All that was left to do was relax until dinner then work on some homework.

He hadn't expected to get into possibly the biggest fight him and Ginny had ever had after dinner that night. They had all gone up to the common room to study and work on homework when Ginny announced before they had even sat down that she was going to study in the library with Michael and a few others. Apparently they had formed a study group, which she prefered going to instead of studying with her fellow housemates and boyfriend. Normally Harry would have been fine with it, especially since it promoted the houses intermingling with each other, as long as there weren't any Slytherins in the mix anyways. For once he wanted to study with Ginny, to spend time with her, more so than just meals and a bit of snogging before bed. He wanted to see how she was doing in her classes, what she was learning about especially since they didn't have all the same classes. He wanted to talk about the quidditch game they had won earlier that day.

"Ginny…." Harry started, praying she would be understanding about the fact that he wanted to spend some real quality time with her tonight and not fly off the handle. "Why don't you stay up here with us...with me?" He asked a bit more quietly. "I haven't seen you much lately…" Harry added, watching her face closely for signs that she was getting upset. The red headed girl huffed, arms crossing over her chest. "Harry, I've seen you every day this week at Quidditch practice, and every evening." She started. While that was mostly true, she had seen him at practices, he had only seen his gilfriend for about twenty minutes before going to bed. More often then not he went to bed early, without seeing her until the next morning for he had been too tired from practice and school work to wait up for her. "We haven't studied together in a while." Harry countered knowing it was useless to argue how often they had seen each other for that would cause her to get angrier faster. "You've been at the library a lot lately...with Michael…" He was going to add that she had also been there with the study group as well, but Ginny had cut him off, face turning quite red as anger flushed her face. "Are you kidding me!" She yelled, causing everyone in the common room to go quiet. "Are you accusing me of cheating on you Harry Potter?" She fumed. "Because I spend a lot of time in the library with a male friend? Someone who's been helping me with potions because I've been having trouble?" Ginny continued, Harry's own temper rising. "No Ginny! God of course not!" There was no doubt in his mind that Ginny would cheat on him. She had been madly in love with him since she was ten years old for Merlin's sake. It was fine that she had male friends, he felt no jealousy whatsoever. She seemed fine with him having female friends as well. "I don't know why you would think I would accuse you of such a thing!" Harry exclaimed, voice rising. "Because you're a jealous gnit!" Ginny shouted, her eyes going a bit wide and Harry was quite taken aback by her words, and quite hurt. True he had been jealous in the beginning, but that had been before they had even gotten together when he was still figuring out his feelings for the young Weasley.

Harry found the comment uncalled for and told her as such. "Ginny...when have I ever acted jealous? I've never had a problem with you having guy friends." He truthfully told her, hoping to get through to her.

She didn't answer him, instead exclaiming, "Harry...I can't..I need a break.." She said as all the anger seemed to drain from her, confusing clouding over Harry's face, his stomach feeling as if it hit the floor, heart read accelerating. He didn't understand what she meant that she needed a break, he thought things were mostly ok besides the fact that they hadn't been able to spend much time together.

"What….Ginn...I don't…." Without listening to another word of what Harry had to say she fled the common room, ascending to the girls dormitory.

Everyone was shocked to say the least, but it was Hermione who had recovered first. "Harry...it's gonna be alright. You know how her temper gets the best of her." Hermione softly told him, hoping she would be able to ease the pain of her best friend just a bit. "I can talk to her if you'd like." She offered, to which Harry only nodded. He was at a loss for words, Ron standing next to him, suggesting that they go sit by the fire, to which Harry numbly agreed to do.

With that, Hermione made her way to the girls dormitory to see what in the world Ginny was thinking.


End file.
